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Fans sometimes refer to this perennial wondering as "why slash" or "The Why Slash Debate" or simply "the why slash", and answers are as varied as fen[2].

The longer one is in fandom, the shorter one's response to this question becomes, often shrinking from vast multipost entries to "Because two men = hot".

The persistence of the "why slash?" debate, while no equivalent existential soul-searching exists for "why het?" (rather than specific ship manifestos for favorite pairings), reflects the idea that being a slasher is a question of identity and self-definition for some slash readers, rather than just a reading and/or pairing preference in a fandom.

sex, and slash sex scenes by Shoshanna. Essay on the writer's initial discovery of and views on slash as the (sole) genre that integrates people's lives in the bedroom with their lives outside it. (April 2011)